This fall, we have an aspiring and talented intern team joining Peace Boat US to assist us with our upcoming events and projects. We kick off this program with an exciting series of events for Climate Week NYC—the biggest global climate event of its kind. Peace Boat US co-hosted different events with a number of other organizations to bring together the most influential leaders in climate action from business, government, and the climate community, and our interns had the opportunity to participate in these events to learn and drive climate actions. Climate Week NYC 2022 was a milestone for the beginning of Peace Boat US’ Fall programs on climate action ahead of our activities and advocacy planned for the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, November 6 -18, 2022. We want to give a warm welcome to the new intern team: Nuria Stojkovski, Daniela de León, Xingyu (Cecilia) Fan, and Molly Rosaaen. We are thrilled to have you, and we look forward to working with you!

Molly Rosaaen is a rising senior studying Political Science and Gender Studies at Pace University. She is passionate about nuclear disarmament and advocates for providing spaces for those who understand the environmental and humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons. She works with a youth-led organization called Youth4TPNW, which promotes these values (TPNW stands for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons) Involving young people in conversations that will affect their lives and future is vital to make effective change. 

Molly is most interested in Sustainable Development Goal #13, Climate Action, and SDG #16, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. She believes that climate justice can be achieved by providing spaces for everyone to participate in the movement and have their voices heard. She is excited to be working with Peace Boat US and gaining experience in peace-building.

Nuria Stojkovski recently graduated from Sankt-Anna-Gymnasium, a german highschool in Munich. She is going to attend philosophische Hochschule of Munich for a one year program in philosophical orientation. Nuria enjoys art as well as socializing, being in charge of five languages (German, English, Italian,French and Croatian) re enforces this natural ability of hers. Nuria is a volunteer of Peace of Paper e.V., a creative project in Munich to support aid organizations specialized for work around refugees’ escape routes. She was elected as class representative, where she had the chance to improve her skills in everyday communication and conflict resolution. 

Nuria is most passionate about SDG #16 for Peace, Justice and strong Institutions. Because she believes that empowered institutions and communities are crucial for any kind of problem solving, especially when it comes to world wide peace. She is also very interested in SDG #13 for Climate Action. She attended a two year seminar about climate change and wrote her final term paper ( “The global connection of water shortage”) about this topic; she is also a member of the first Fridays 4 Future message group in Munich since late 2018. Nuria is excited to be part of Peace Boats huge community and she hopes to further develop her research skills along with her knowledge about coalition building and the SDGs in general.

Returning interns:

Xingyu (Cecilia) Fan is a recent graduate from the University of California, San Diego. She majors in International Relations with a minor in Climate Change Studies, hoping to tackle climate change at a global level. Cecilia enjoys public speaking and cross-cultural communication and loves to go hiking in her free time. During her time at UCSD, Cecilia composed an Honors Thesis focusing on facilitating transnational cooperation between China and the U.S to promote renewable energies. She has also worked with the University’s administrative committee in setting up a climate change course requirement for all future UCSD students. 

Cecilia is most passionate about Sustainable Development Goal #13: Climate Action. Believing that public participation is key to resolving climate change, she hopes to mobilize global efforts from both social and political aspects. At Peace Boat, she is looking forward to gaining valuable NGO working experiences and honing her research, networking, and communication skills to make greater impacts in the near future. 

Daniela de León was born and raised in Maya Q’anjob’al territory in Guatemala’s northern highlands. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at Lake Forest College in Illinois. Daniela is passionate about environmental justice, collective memory as a way of truth telling, and indigenous rights. She is excited to continue participating in Peace Boat US as an intern during the Fall of 2022. Daniela was very active as an intern during the summer of 2022 and participated in the United Nations World Oceans Day related activities in June, as well as the UN High-Level Political Forum in July. 

Daniela identifies the most with SDG #10, which calls for reduced inequalities within and among countries.  She believes that providing equal opportunity to everyone irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic status will allow different voices to take a part in important decisions, especially those regarding sustainable development and climate change mitigation.